Tuesday, March 06, 2012
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, has been savaged in a radio phone-in, with callers telling him he is not up to the job and will never be prime minister.
Mr Miliband faced several personal attacks from callers to BBC Radio Five Live. He also endured the embarrassment of a caller mistaking him for his brother, David.
Despite opinion polls putting his party neck-and-neck with the Conservatives, the Labour leader has faced persistent questions about his performance since defeating his brother to take the leadership in 2010.
His appearance on the Victoria Derbyshire show today was meant to highlight his call for greater pride in British goods and manufacturers.
However, it rapidly became a litmus test of his personal appeal, as several callers strongly criticised his performance and abilities.
One caller told Mr Miliband he was “a laughing stock” who could not win the next general election. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Listen to BBC Radio Five Live programme here
BBC: Civic leaders in eastern Libya have declared semi-autonomy for their oil-rich region at a meeting in Benghazi.
They say the move is necessary as the region, once known as Cyrenaica, has been neglected for decades.
But the move has caused tension with the governing National Transitional Council in the capital Tripoli.
The declaration has no force in law but is a declaration of intent by the local leaders, the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse reports from Benghazi.
It also has significant popular support among people in Libya's second city, he adds.
The NTC denounced the move as "dangerous" and "a blatant call for fragmentation".
"We are against divisions and against any move that hurts the unity of the Libyan people," Fathi Baja, head of the NTC's political committee, told the Associated Press. » | Tuesday, March 06, 2012
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ölreiche Region in Ostlibyen erklärt Autonomie: Bricht Libyen bald auseinander? Im Osten das Landes haben Stammes- und Milizenführer eine autonome Region ausgerufen - obwohl die Zentralregierung in Tripolis sich mehrfach dagegen ausgesprochen hatte. Das Gebiet ist reich an Öl. » | lgr/AFP/dapd | Dienstag, 06. März 2012
BELFAST TELEGRAPH: President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said a new museum dedicated to the Falklands Islands will honour Argentinian marines killed trying to reclaim them from Britain 30 years ago. Ms Kirchner announced details of the 20 million US dollar museum. » | Tuesday, March 06, 2012
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LE POINT: Le Premier ministre a suggéré aux juifs et aux musulmans de revenir sur des "traditions ancestrales".
En pleine polémique sur la viande halal, François Fillon a provoqué lundi la colère du Crif en suggérant aux juifs et aux musulmans de revenir sur les "traditions ancestrales" d'abattage rituel des animaux, qui ne correspondent plus aujourd'hui "à grand-chose". Lundi matin, le Premier ministre, s'exprimant à titre personnel, a estimé sur Europe 1 que "les religions devaient réfléchir au maintien de traditions qui n'ont plus grand-chose à voir avec l'état aujourd'hui de la science, l'état de la technologie, les problèmes de santé".
Ces déclarations ont suscité le mécontentement du président du Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (Crif), Richard Prasquier, dont l'organisation entretient de bonnes relations avec Nicolas Sarkozy. "J'ai été choqué de l'entendre s'exprimer ainsi", "la déclaration de François Fillon est stupéfiante", a déclaré Richard Prasquier. "Même s'il dit que c'est à titre personnel qu'il s'exprime, quand on est Premier ministre, on a une parole officielle. Nous sommes dans un pays de séparation de l'Église et de l'État", a rappelé Richard Prasquier. » | Le Point.fr | mardi 06 mars 2012
EUROPE 1: Abattage rituel : juifs et musulmans en colère – Les représentants de ces deux religions regrettent les propos de François Fillon. » | Par Europe1.fr avec Stéphane Grand et AFP | mardi 06 mars 2012
"The euro is not in the interests of the Dutch people," said Geert Wilders, the leader of the right-wing populist party with a sixth of the seats in the Dutch parliament. "We want to be the master of our own house and our own country, so we say yes to the guilder. Bring it on."
Mr Wilders made his decision after receiving a report by London-based Lombard Street Research concluding that the Netherlands is badly handicapped by euro membership, and that it could cost EMU’s creditor core more than €2.4 trillion to hold monetary union together over the next four years. "If the politicians in The Hague disagree with our report, let them show the guts to hold a referendum. Let the Dutch people decide," he said.
Mr Wilders is not part of the coalition. However, the minority government of Mark Rutte relies on the Freedom Party to pass legislation. The two men were in talks on Monday on €16bn of fresh austerity cuts needed stop the budget deficit jumping to 4.5pc of GDP. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Monday, March 05, 2012
My comment:
This is a funny thing! This paper has never missed an opportunity to vilify Geert Wilders when he has spoken out politically incorrectly about Islam, but now that he speaks about a subject – the demise of the euro – close to this newspaper's heart, he is touted as a hero. Well, well! Fancy that! – © Mark
This comment also appears here.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jamaica's prime minister has hinted that Britain might want to pay her country compensation for the "wicked and brutal" years of slavery in the days of Empire as she prepares to host Prince Harry on the latest leg of his Caribbean tour.
Portia Simpson Miller said that if Britain wanted to apologise for slavery it would be "fine with us" and repeated her view that the Queen should be removed as head of state of the Commonwealth realm.
In an interview with the BBC recorded hours before Prince Harry touched down at Kingston's Normal Manley Airport, Mrs Simpson Miller chose the four-day Diamond Jubilee visit to highlight the way her forebears had been wronged by the British.
"No race should have been subjected to what out [sic] ancestors were subjected to," she said. "It was wicked and brutal.
"We gained our freedom through the sweat, blood and tears of our ancestors and we are now free.
"If Britain wishes to apologise, fine with us, no problem at all." » | Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter, in Kingston, Jamaica | Tuesday, March 06, 2012
WATCH BBC VIDEO: here
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: More than 70,000 Olympic volunteers will be given sensitivity training ahead of the London games, including how to give directions to toilets if they cannot tell the difference between a man and woman.
Members of the public will be taught how to properly describe minority ethnic athletes and how to cope when faced with remarks about a Muslim headscarf.
They will even be tested on what to do if faced with a male couple holding hands, and taught how to speak to disabled visitors.
The unusual questions are all part of a “diversity and inclusion” questionnaire given to volunteers, to find out how they would respond to “sensitive” issues. » | Hannah Furness | Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Redefining marriage to include homosexuals would be a “profoundly radical step” stripping it of its “distinctive nature”, the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, will say.
The warning, the most significant intervention yet into the debate on gay marriage, is in a letter to be read from the pulpit in 2,500 churches during Mass this Sunday. It has been seen by The Daily Telegraph as the Government prepares to announce the terms of a national consultation on a proposed change to the law on marriage.
The last time the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church intervened on a political issue, during the threat to impose quotas on faith schools in 2007, ministers climbed down within days.
Significantly, the letter, co-signed by the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Reverend Peter Smith, adopts a strikingly moderate tone, in contrast with that of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, who accused the Coalition of a “grotesque subversion” at the weekend.
As well as setting out Church teaching, it appeals to wider society, arguing that marriage is a “natural institution” with a meaning understood far beyond the confines of the religion. It says that extending it to same-sex couples would reduce marriage to a vague commitment between two people. The archbishops argue that marriage between a man and a woman is “at the foundation of our society”, but also praise the “remarkable example of courage and fidelity” displayed by many who have suffered marital breakdown. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Monday, March 05, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
TAGES ANZEIGER: Das Comeback der russischen First Lady: Die Wahl von Wladimir Putin zum Präsidenten überrascht wenig. Der Auftritt seiner Frau aber schon. Ljudmila Putina zeigte sich erstmals seit Jahren in der Öffentlichkeit – und fiel dabei durch ihr neukonzipiertes Äusseres auf. » | Von Michèle Widmer | Montag, 05. März 2012
Berlin. Donnerstag werden die Soldaten aufmarschieren, zu nächtlicher Stunde im Schlosspark von Bellevue, samt Pauken, Fackeln und Trompeten. Mit einem Großen Zapfenstreich, der höchsten militärischen Ehrenbezeugung, wird Christian Wulff verabschiedet. Dann sollte eigentlich Ruhe einkehren in der Affäre um einen Bundespräsidenten, der zurücktreten musste, weil Staatsanwälte gegen ihn wegen des Verdachts auf Vorteilsannahme ermitteln. Doch auch der pompöse Abgang sorgt für Irritation. SPD-Politiker halten die Zeremonie in diesem Fall für unangemessen, das Ex-Staatsoberhaupt solle sich in Demut üben.
Damit sprechen sie wohl den meisten Deutschen aus der Seele. Schon die Zusicherung des Ehrensoldes, einer lebenslangen Sofortpension von knapp 200.000 Euro jährlich, erregt die Gemüter. 84 Prozent der Befragten wünschen sich, dass Wulff darauf verzichtet. Laut „Spiegel“ fordert er aber auch die Zusatzleistungen, die den vier anderen noch lebenden Ex-Präsidenten finanziert werden. Offenbar ist es das, was er unter einer Frage der Ehre versteht. » | Von Karl Gaulhofer | Die Presse | Montag, 05. März 2012
DIE PRESSE: In der Protesthochburg sollen Soldaten des syrischen Präsidenten Assad Häuser in Brand stecken. Den Helfern des Roten Kreuzes wird weiterhin der Zugang verwehrt.
Nach dem Einmarsch der syrischen Armee ist die einstige Protesthochburg Homs nach Angaben der Opposition Schauplatz eines grausamen Rachefeldzugs. "Stoppt die Hinrichtungen in Baba Amro!" - mit diesem dramatische Appell machten syrische Aktivisten am Montag auf die Lage in dem Stadtviertel aufmerksam, das die Aufständischen am Donnerstag geräumt hatten. Die Gegner des Regimes von Präsident Bashar al-Assad erklärten, Menschen würden dort öffentlich hingerichtet.
Am Montag seien zahlreiche Häuser angezündet worden. Das Internationale Rote Kreuz wartet noch immer vergeblich auf eine Erlaubnis, der Zivilbevölkerung Hilfe zu leisten. Angeblich wird den Helfern der Zugang zu tausenden notleidenden Zivilisten aus Sicherheitsgründen verweigert. » | Ag. | Montag, 05. März 2012
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: L'armée syrienne a bombardé lundi Rastane, au centre du pays, pour le deuxième jour consécutif. Elle a fait fi de la pression diplomatique, appelée à s'intensifier avec notamment une visite samedi à Damas de l'émissaire de l'ONU et de la Ligue arabe, Kofi Annan.
Kofi Annan et son adjoint, l'ancien ministre palestinien des Affaires étrangères Nasser al-Qidwa, rencontreront jeudi le secrétaire général de la Ligue arabe Nabil al-Arabi, a annoncé ce dernier. Ils rejoindront ensuite Damas. L'ancien secrétaire général de l'ONU compte y faire passer le message que «les massacres et la violence doivent cesser».
La responsable des opérations humanitaires de l'ONU Valerie Amos a annoncé de son côté qu'elle se rendrait en Syrie à partir de mercredi pour tenter d'obtenir un accès humanitaire «sans entrave». Continuez à lire et réagir à cet article » | afp/Newsnet | lundi 05 mars 2012
In the wake of the atrocities in Norway perpetrated by Anders Behring Breivik, it is still unclear whether he was part of a wider conspiracy, but alarm bells are now ringing across Europe about the threat from far-right extremist groups. With no end in sight to the economic crisis afflicting many nations, the growing fear is that voters are increasingly attracted to far-right parties, many of whom have been building support by opposing immigration and stirring up hatred of Muslims.
In Norway, the right-wing Progress party garnered 23 per cent of the vote in the last election, making it the second-largest. And a recent poll found that half of all Norwegians favour restricting immigration. This did not go far enough for Breivik, who believed that the forced deportation of Muslims should be government policy, a radical political view he formed over time by participating in extreme online forums where he discussed his beliefs with like-minded individuals across the world.
The 32-year-old Norwegian made his thoughts clear in a 1,500 page document he wrote before embarking on his killing spree. Shortly before he detonated his bomb in Oslo and then killed 68 people on Utoeya, Breivik emailed his document to 1,003 of his far-right contacts, including extremists in England whom Breivik boasted to have forged links with in recent years in his opposition to Islam.
He particularly admired the English Defence League for its anti-Islam stance, and - according to the respected anti-fascist magazine, Searchlight - posted a message on its website in March this year. Using the pseudonym Sigurd Jorsalfare after a Norwegian king who led a Crusade in the 12th century, Breivik wrote: "Hello. To you all good English men and women, just wanted to say that you're a blessing to all in Europe, in these dark times all of Europe are looking to you in such [sic] of inspiration, courage and even hope that we might turn this evil trend with islamisation all across our continent." » | Billy Briggs* | Friday, September 02, 2011
* Billy Briggs is an award-winning freelance journalist.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bright students are starting university unable to structure an essay because of the “damage” caused by test-driven schooling, Cambridge academics warned today (Monday).
Many undergraduates are struggling to show their natural flair after being ordered to write in a highly-structured way to pass exams, it was claimed.
Robert Tombs, professor of history at St John's College, Cambridge, warned that students were “drilled into writing” in a formulaic manner between the age of 11 and 18, leaving them unable to articulate their ideas on degree courses.
David Abulafia, professor of Mediterranean history at Gonville and Caius College, also told how extremely bright students were “grappling with difficulties” that “would have been inconceivable” in the past, even among their weakest classmates.
The comments – made at a seminar organised by the Politeia think tank – come amid growing concerns over levels of basic skills among school leavers. Read on and comment » | Graeme Paton, Education Editor | Monday, March 05, 2012
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Monday dismissed a comment about his homosexuality by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who had said: "Better to be a dictator than gay."
Westerwelle, who last week described Lukashenko as "Europe's last dictator," said on Monday: "This statement condemns itself. I won't budge one millimeter from my commítment to human rights and democracy in Belarus after these comments."
Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Lukaschenko's comment "shows very clearly the position that the Belarus president takes in relation to basic rights. It's interesting to find out this way that Mr. Lukashenko too now classes himself as a dictator."
"That by the way is a view that the federal government reached some time ago and on which the Belarus president delivers proof almost daily," he added. » | SPIEGEL -- with wire reports | Monday, March 05, 2012
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CBS NEWS: Dutch Prince Johan Friso, in a coma since he was buried under an avalanche on Feb. 17, was transferred Thursday to a hospital in London.
The palace confirmed the transfer, saying: "Wellington hospital was recommended by experts. Considering his condition, Prince Friso will receive the best possible treatment there." » | Friday, March 02, 2012
ROYAL STATEMENT: HET KONINKLIJK HUIS: His Royal Highness Prince Friso, 1 March 2012, 18.18 »
Related material here and here
Republicans and their Tea Party shock troops say they want to "take America back". Progressives think they mean back to the 1950s, back to when men were men, women were ladies, and black folks only got into the White House by the back door. But Republicans are thinking big: they actually want to take us back to the Middle Ages, back to the "good old days" of sexual repression, regulation and punishment.
Forget the economy: this election is becoming a referendum on women's bodies, since it's women (according to the Republicans' Book of Holy Misogyny) who like to have sex without wanting to get pregnant, and, if they do get pregnant, might want to have an abortion; women who demand, as former Senator Rick Santorum says, a "license to do things in the sexual realm that is [sic] counter to how things are supposed to be."
You know, "sluts".
Republicans in Congress have launched a dubious investigation of Planned Parenthood, the century-old women's health organization, and tried to take away its funding. The Senate narrowly defeated an amendment that would have allowed employers to deny insurance coverage for anything the employer found morally or religiously objectionable: contraception, certainly, but perhaps also lung cancer treatment ("you should have stopped smoking"), HIV/Aids testing ("homosexuality is an abomination"), and pre-natal care for single women ("nice girls get themselves a husband before they get themselves a baby").
With the notable exception of Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, a moderate who announced last week that she'd had enough of the ugliness and would not seek re-election, the Republican party has regressed to a pre-modern state, making war on any woman who, to borrow Rebecca West's words, "expresses any sentiment that might differentiate her from a doormat or a prostitute". Just the other week, an Indiana legislator pitched a hissy fit over the girl scouts, the US version of the girl guides, accusing them of promoting lesbianism and feminismand, worst of all, working hand in glove with Planned Parenthood. » | Diane Roberts | Monday, March 05, 2012
Meeting the Israeli leader at the White House, Mr Obama said a nuclear Iran would be an "unacceptable" development.
On Sunday, Mr Obama told a pro-Israel conference in Washington there had been too much "loose talk" of war with Iran.
Israel fears Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, although Tehran insists its nuclear plans are peaceful.
"The bond between our two countries is unbreakable," Mr Obama said, as the two leaders sat side-by-side in the Oval Office.
The president emphasised: "We believe there is still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution," but added that the US would consider "all options" in dealing with Iran.
Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu said Israel "must have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat". (+ videos) » | Monday, March 05, 2012
Dalla, who died at the age of 68, was buried in his home town of Bologna on Sunday.
His companion gave an emotional address to the 50,000 who gathered to watch the event, which was carried live on TV.
Commentators have said that Mr Dalla's reserve about his sexuality reveals Italy's levels of discrimination.
"Lucio Dalla's death is marked at the cathedral. But Lucio Dalla was a man who, being gay, never said it out [loud]," said widely respected journalist Lucia Annunziata.
She said Dalla's case was an example of how much homophobia existed in Italy. » | Monday, March 05, 2012
Judges had found the verdict against Amir Mirzai Hekmati was "not complete" and referred his case to an affiliate court, a judiciary spokesman said.
In January, Mr Hekmati was convicted of "co-operating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate Iran in terrorism".
The US has urged Iran to release him.
It has repeatedly insisted the allegations that Mr Hekmati either worked for, or was sent to Iran by the CIA, are "simply untrue".
Mr Hekmati's family, who live in Arizona, have also said the charges are fabricated and that he was in Iran last year to visit his grandmothers. » | Monday, March 05, 2012
TAGES ANZEIGER: Angeblicher US-Spion entgeht der Todesstrafe: In Iran hat das Oberste Gericht das Todesurteil gegen einen amerikanisch-iranischen Doppelbürger aufgehoben. Der 28-Jährige hat eine illustre Vergangenheit. » | ami/AFP | Montag, 05. März 2012
BBC – TODAY: A senior British cleric has defended his attack on government plans to legalise same sex marriage.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, had described the plans as "grotesque" and said they would "shame the United Kingdom" in an article in the Telegraph.
He told the Today programme's John Humphrys that likening gay marriage to slavery is "a very good example" of what could follow on from the change in the law.
Same sex marriage "is not marriage", he maintained, which is defined by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights as a relationship between a man and a woman. Countries which already support same sex marriage are "violating human rights".
"It's time to call a halt to what you might call progress", he said, saying that same sex marriage would lead to society "degenerating even further... into immorality". Listen to BBC AUDIO » | John Humphries | Monday, March 05, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gay marriage is like slavery, Catholic leader says: Britain’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has condemned gay marriage as an “aberration”, likening it to slavery and abortion. » | Hannah Furness | Monday, March 05, 2012
NY DAILY NEWS: Head of Catholic Church in Scotland calls British plan to allow gay marriage ‘madness’: Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal Keith O’Brien accuses British government of trying to ‘redefine reality’ ¶ LONDON — The head of the Catholic Church in Scotland has fiercely attacked the British government’s plans to allow gay marriage, calling the proposals “madness.” ¶ In an article for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Scottish Roman Catholic Cardinal Keith O’Brien accused the coalition government of trying to “redefine reality.” ¶ He called the plans “a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right,” and said the government’s backing for marriage to include homosexual couples was “madness.” » | Associated Press | Sunday, March 04, 2012
GUARDIAN – BLOGS – ANDREW BROWN: If lay Catholics now accept remarriage, why not gay marriage? : Cardinal O'Brien should note the Bible's rejection of divorce is a lot stronger than the evidence for damning all gay people » | Andrew Brown | Monday, March 05, 2012
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Supermarkets could be banned from advertising cheap alcohol under Coalition plans.
The ban, which would form part of the Coalition’s alcohol strategy, would see an end to retailers such as Tesco and Asda advertising money-off deals on beer, wine and spirits.
Promotional deals by supermarkets such as ‘3 bottles of wine for £10’ or half-price lager have been seen as contributory factors to the increase in binge drinking in the UK.
The move, which is still under discussion, would see the outlawing of TV and poster ads pushing cheap alcohol.
Supermarkets have used such advertising around ‘events’ such as football tournaments, bank holidays or Christmas in order to drive sales. » | James Hall, Consumer Affairs Editor | Sunday, March 04, 2012
My comment:
This prime minister must be the joker in the pack! Does he seriously think that abolishing deals on alcohol is going to stop the binge-drinking? All this will do is punish the decent people who enjoy a tipple.
The problem of binge-drinking starts in the home. The people who overindulge are people who haven't had a proper upbringing. They probably also do not have an extended family to sanction their bad behaviour.
What Mr. Cameron and his government need to concentrate on is how to get back to a situation in which children have a proper family and home-life. Then, and only then will children have a hope of being raised in good, solid homes; and then, and only then will children be raised with values which will enable them to eschew such debauched ways of life. Bring back the family! That will solve the problem(s) in today's sad society. Increasing taxes won't even go half way to solving them. – © Mark
This comment also appears here.
THE INDEPENDENT: Cameron to defy Cabinet and insist on alcohol price cap: Sharp increases in the price of cheap cider and beer sold in supermarkets are on the cards after David Cameron backed plans for a minimum price of alcohol. » | Andrew Grice, Monday, March 05, 2012
Sunday, March 04, 2012
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The mercurial Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has declared he would rather be a dictator than be gay in an attack apparently targeting German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle.
Mr Lukashenko lashed out Sunday at recent sanctions imposed by Europe over his rights record, saying in impromptu remarks at that the foreign ministers of Poland and Germany, who had spearheaded the diplomatic offensive against his government, were outsiders who deserved public scorn. » | Sunday, March 04, 2012
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A tearful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won a six-year term as Russia's president in what he described as an "open and honest" election on Sunday.
Tears rolled down the former KGB agent's cheeks as he claimed victory at a rally attended by thousands in Moscow.
"I promised you we would win. We have won. Glory to Russia," Mr Putin told the rally just metres from the Kremlin in the centre of Moscow. (+ video) » | Tom Parfitt, Moscow, and agencies | Sunday, March 04, 2012
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC NEWS AGENCY: WASHINGTON DC, 11 Rabi al-Thani / 4 March (IINA)-A leading US Muslim group has launched a campaign to educate Americans about Islamic Sharia long affected by post-9/11 politics as well as campaigns led by Republican presidential candidates.
“ICNA is making an honest attempt to reach out and connect to our fellow Americans and introduce them to our Islamic faith,” Naeem Baig, the Islamic Circle of North America’s vice president of public affairs, told CNN.
“We see it as our responsibility to clarify misconceptions about American Muslims.”
The campaigns launched by ICNA is aimed at “educating Americans” on what it says is the noble meaning of Sharia. » | AH/IINA | Sunday, March 04, 2012
MAIL ONLINE: Insult to WWII heroes: Graves of British troops smashed and desecrated by Libyan Islamists in protest over U.S. soldiers' Koran burning » | Daily Mail Reporter | Friday, March 02, 2012
MAIL ONLINE: Former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron has spoken out against homosexuality and his comments are not sitting well with The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Cameron, who is an evangelical Christian, made his comments yesterday on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight.
When asked by Morgan if he thinks homosexuality is a sin, the 41-year-old star did not mince his words.
'I think that it’s unnatural,' Cameron said. 'I think that it’s detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilisation.'
Cameron also spoke out against gay marriage adding: 'I believe that marriage was defined by God.
'Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve.
'One man, one woman for life 'til death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don’t think anyone else should either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.'
The gay rights group GLAAD immediately released a statement, denouncing the star's comments. » | Ann Pride | Saturday, March 03, 2012
"At the request of Minister (Guido) Westerwelle, the Iranian ambassador was summoned yesterday (Friday) to the foreign ministry for the German government to convey its deep concern over the fate of Christian pastor Yusuf Nadarkhani and to demand his immediate release," a spokeswoman told AFP Saturday.
"According to several independent reports, (Nadarkhani) is to be executed soon. Instructions to that effect have been sent by the Iranian judiciary authorities to the central prison in Rasht," where he is being held, she said. » | AFP/mw | Saturday, March 03, 2012
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: At Monday's meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama the Israeli prime minister will deliver a stark warning, reports Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem
Their relationship, almost from the outset, has been frostier than not, a mutual antipathy palpable in many of their previous encounters.
Two years ago, Barack Obama reportedly left Benjamin Netanyahu to kick his heels in a White House anteroom, a snub delivered to show the president's irritation over Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank. In May, the Israeli prime minister struck back, publicly scolding his purse-lipped host for the borders he proposed of a future Palestinian state.
When the two men meet in Washington on Monday, Mr Obama will find his guest once more at his most combative. But this time, perhaps as never before, it is the Israeli who has the upper hand.
Exuding confidence, Mr Netanyahu effectively brings with him an ultimatum, demanding that unless the president makes a firm pledge to use US military force to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb, Israelmay well take matters into its own hands within months.
The threat is not an idle one. According to sources close to the Israeli security establishment, military planners have concluded that never before has the timing for a unilateral military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities been so auspicious. Read on and comment » | Adrian Blomfield, in Jerusalem | Saturday, March 03, 2012
The Conservative blogger, who published the infamous tweets that brought down former Representative Anthony Weiner, died on Thursday after he suddenly collapsed on a sidewalk near his Los Angeles home.
Within hours of his death, the internet was awash with methods and motives invented by conspiracy theorist[s] explaining how and why Obama had the author killed.
The theories are fueled by Breitbart's announcement at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington last month that he had a college video of Obama that that would blow the lid off his presidency.
'[We] are going to vet [Obama] from his college days to show you why racial division and class warfare are central to what hope and change was sold in 2008,' Breitbart told the CPAC, reports Yahoo News.
'The rest of us slept while they plotted, and they plotted, and they plotted.' he added.
Breitbart said he planned to release the damning footage before the general election. » | Daily Mail Reporter | Saturday, March 03, 2012
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Mitt Romney rolled to a double-digit victory in Washington state's Republican presidential caucuses on Saturday night, his fourth campaign triumph in a row and a fresh show of strength in the run-up to 10 Super Tuesday contests across America.
Rick Santorum and Ron Paul battled for second place, while Newt Gingrich ran a distant fourth.
Romney's victory came on the heels of twin primary triumphs over Santorum during the week in hard-fought Michigan and lightly contested Arizona, as well as a narrow win over Paul in Maine caucuses earlier in February. » | Associated Press in Washington | Saturday, March 03, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A controversial wartime Pope accused by historians of being too compliant towards Hitler was praised by former Jewish prisoners for preventing their deportation to death camps, documents released from the Vatican's secret archives have revealed.
Pius XII, who was elected in 1939, has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Nazis' extermination of the Jews in Europe, including a round-up by the Gestapo of 2,000 Italian Jews in Rome's Ghetto area in 1943.
They were sent to concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and only a handful survived the war.
The Vatican has until now refused to release any documents from Pius's papacy, despite calls for them to be made available by Jewish groups and historians, who in the past have dubbed the Italian pontiff "Hitler's Pope" and accused him of being anti-Semitic.
But in an historic move, seven documents from the so-called "closed period" went on display this week in an exhibition of 100 historic items from the Vatican Secret Archives.
They suggested that the Pope showed more concern for the plight of Jews during the war than he is often credited with. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, March 02, 2012
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